Ironing element



Dec. 1, 1942e A. J. PATCH IRONING ELEMENT Filed Nov. 29, 1938 :IEE-l INVEN TOR.

I www l ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 1, 1942 Unirse stares 'entrent orricsIRONING ELEMENT Allen J. Patch, Ripon, Wis.V

Application November 29, 1938, Serial No. 243,015

l1 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in ironing elements, andparticularly to an ironing shoe primarily intended and adapted for useon and in conjunction with an ironing machine, such as a, laundry orhousehold ironing machine, a pressing machine or the like, for ironing,pressing, steaming and other operations upon or in connection withclothing, fabrics, or other materials to be ironed, pressed, steamed andthe like.

- An object of my invention is to provide a shoe which is adapted to beheated, when in use, and which is so constructed that the ironing faceis substantially evenly heated over all ironing contact portions thereofand the heat is not conducted or dissipated from the ironing portion, tothus give a maximum eciency with a minimum supply of heat from a heatingelement or other source from which heat is supplied to the ironing shoe.

Another object is to provide an internally heated shoe so constructedand mounted and held that substantially the only portion exposed istheactual ironing surface, and that all other portions of the ironingshoe are protected and housed and insulated to guard against and preventloss of heat through radiation or conduction, or through any othercause, to cool spots or portions of the ironing shoe or toreduce thetemperature of the entire shoe below a point pensive construction andwhich can be readily f';

and cheaply manufactured and will not be likely to become damaged orbroken or otherwise rendered inoperative or inefcient from ordinaryconditions of use.

Yet another object is to provide an ironing shoe and supporting andmounting and casing structure therefor with which the danger andlikelihood of the lingers or hands of the operator being burned wheninserting and handling or manipulating clothes or materials beingoperated upon by the ironer is substantially eliminated; and with whichthe possibility of the operator or of anyone else being burned is reiduced to a minimum, since the heat of exposed portions is substantiallyconfined to the efecsubstantially eonned to and concentrated with--V inthe portion embracing the ironing face, to thus maintain the ironingshoe throughout all portions and over the entire ironing face at atemperature and in a condition for most eflicient use, and yet requiringa minimum consumption of current or other energy used in heating theshoe.

With the above and other objects in View; which will be apparent `tothose skilled in the art, my invention includes certain novel featuresof construction and combinations and arrangements and associations ofparts, which will be hereinafter set forth in connection with thedrawing and then pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of the upper portion of an ironingmachine having an ironing shoe embodying the features of this invention.y

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional View through the ironing shoe andhousing taken substantially on line 3 3 of Figure 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional View similar to Fig. 2' showing a modifiedconstruction of housing and mounting.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional View taken substantially online 4-4 of Fig. 2.

In the present instance I have, in Figure l of the drawing, illustratedone adaptation and use of my invention in connection with an ironingmachine structure of the household or laundry type. As here shown, ausually rotatable and driven roll is generally indicated at l0, and ausually non-rotatable shoe is generally indicated at I l. 'I'he ironingface, and the shoe, is provided with means for supplying heat to theshoe to heat the ironing face area so that the articles or material inpassing through `the machine, or as engaged between the roll and theshoe will be ironed or pressed smoothly. y

With the embodiment of my invention `as i1- lustrated in the drawing,the lironing member I2,V which can be made as an iron or other casting,

can be formed from sheet metal or other suitable material, or can beconstructed in any other desired manner and of any suitable material, ispreferably made as an elongated plate of substantially elongatedrectangular form. This ironing member has its outer face shaped orformed to be of substantially arcuate concaved contour to substantiallyt the contour of the roll l0, and the ironing member l2 is made ofsufficient thickness to give or inherently possess a considerably bulkor mass so that heat will be carried to all parts of the ironing face ofthe concaved arcuate shaped ironing face, and that heat will be held tomaintain the desired degree of temperature of heat within the ironingmember. At its longitudinal edges, these being the upper and lower edgesin the present embodiment, the ironing member I2 has the portions I3thereof offset rearwardly of the ironing surface or face, and slightlyconcaved on their forward sides, as shown at I4.

A casing or case I5, preferably made of relatively thin sheet metal, orof other suitable material, is shaped and formed to present a concavedrecess to substantially fit and receive and enclose the rear side of theironing member I2. Each of the longitudinal edges, in the presentdisclosure being the upper and lower edges, of the casing I5 is curvedor bent forwardly, as at I6, and then inwardly, as at I'I, to thusprovide substantially inturned flanges at the upper and lower edges ofthe case to receive and embrace and house the offset portions I3 of theironing member. With the casing I5 constructed in this manner and withthe ironing member I2 placed Within the casing, substantially only theironing faceY or surface of the ironing member I2 is eX- posed, and aconsiderable space or clearance is provided between the inner side ofthe ironing member I2 and the side wall of the casing I5.

If the ironing member I2 be assembled in direct metal-to-metal contactwith the casing I5, or have thermo conducting contact with the portionsI6 or II, heat supplied to the ironing member I2, in manner to behereinafter more fully set forth, will be directly conducted to thecasing I5 and will cause undue heating of this casing and at the sametime will cause considerable heat losses from the ironing member.Further, any metal-to-metal contact between any part of the case, orother supporting structure, and the ironing member I2 will tend to causeradiation or dissipation of heat from areas of the ironing face orsurface of the ironing member adjacent to such contacting portions, thuscontributing to unequal or spotty heating of the ironing face. Toprevent such metal-to-metal contact between the offset portions I3 ofthe ironing member I2 and the curved portions I6 and I'I of the casing,a strip IB of heat insulating material, which can be of asbestos orother suitable material, is interposed between the portions I3 of theironing member and the inturned portions I'I of the casing I5, alongboth the upper and the lower edges. 'I'he concavity of the offsetportions I3 and the curvature of the portions II of the casing will holdthe strip I8 properly spaced between the edges of the ironing member I2and the casing I5, and against lateral movement or other displacement.

In feeding articles of clothing, fabric, or other material to be ironedor pressed between the roll and the shoe the operator often finds itnecessary to place the fingers very close to the line or point ofentrance between the roll Il) and the ironing shoe II, and consequentlythere is danger and likelihood of the operators fingers being burned ifany heated portion of the ironing shoe be exposed or be left unprotectedand unguarded. With the present construction, there is no possibility ofdirect conduction of heat from the ironing member I2 to any part of thecasing I5, and as the casing has considerable air spaces therein aroundthe encased portions of the ironing member I2, there is littlelikelihood that any portion of the casing will lIl asoasco becomesufficiently heated to burn the fingers of the operator or to burn,Scorch, or otherwise injure any fabric articles or other materials whichmay be brought into and held in contact with other portions of thecasing. With the parts constructed and assembled in this manner, theoperator cannot touch the heated ironing face or surface of the ironingmember when the shoe is in ironing or pressing position, and the casingcannot absorb or accumulate through conduction sufcient heat to causeburning -or injury to the fingers or person of the operator or to anyother article or material coming in contact therewith.

To heat the shoe, an electrical heating element 2B, of sheet-like formand of a shape and size substantially corresponding to the shape andsize and area of the ironing face or surface of the ironing member I2,is positioned within the casing I5 and lies closely adjacent to theinner or rear face of the ironing member I2. A sheet 2| of electricalinsulating 'material capable of withstanding heat, such as mica, can beplaced between the heating element 20, and the rear face of the ironingmember I2 to prevent shortcircuiting or other contact that might causeinjury to the heating element 20.

As has been stated, the rear wall or back portion of the casing I5 ispreferably considerably separated or spaced from the back or inner faceof the ironing member I2, and this space not only permits placement andaccommodation of the heating element 20, but also prevents possibilityof thermo conducting Contact between any portions of the ironing memberI2 and the casing I5. To hold the heating element 2G in heating relationto the ironing member I2, and to insulate against loss or dissipation ofheat, I interpose within the casing I5 and back of the h'eating element2li, a plurality of layers 22 of heat insulating material, such as sheetasbestos, or other suitable heat insulating material. This mass ofinsulating material at 22 prevents radiation or dissipation of heatrearwardly from either the heating element 20 or the ironing member I2,and tends to conserve and hold an even heat within the body portion ofthe ironing member I2 over all portions thereof embracing the ironingface or surface. A plate 2-3, or other suitable covering means, ispreferably provided on the rear side of th'e insulating layers 22, andthe parts are assembled to leave space between, this plate 23 and theback wall of the casing I5, to thus provide for an air circulation spaceand reduce the possibility of conduction of heat to the casing.

To retain the insulating layers 22 and the mounting plate 23 in place, Iprovide bowed spring-like spacing members 24 bearing against the rearface of the plate 23 and against a portion of the inner face of the rearwall of the casing I5, these members 24 being spaced apart and beinglocated at such points as will insure maintenance of the portions 22 and23, and consequently the heating element 2i), in proper relation. Eachof the retaining members 24 has a rearwardly projecting boss portion 25,preferably rounded out in cross section, and adapted to fit into acorrespondingly shaped depression or groove formed in the wall of thecasing i5, to thus prevent relative displacement of the retaining member24 and at the same time providing a minimum area of contact between themembers 24 and the casing structure. With this construction and mountingof the retaining membe provided for free air circulation within thecasing, and the members 24 are suiiiciently resilient to accommodateexpansion and contraction of the structure due to heating and cooling,`

and are yet positively held against displacement and against allowingth'e portions 20, 2li, 22 and 23 to be displaced.

The edges of the plate 23 adjacent to the rearwardly offset portion I3of the ironing member I2 are extended and are bent forwardly, as`illustrated at 26, to substantially close the space between the plate23 and the oiset portions I3, to thereby reduce the space for escape ofheat from the heating element 2li around the edges of the plate 23. Theedges or portions 25 of the plate 23 do not extend sufliciently tocontact with any portion of the ironing shoe I2, and consequently thereis no thermo conducting contact between the plate 23 and the ironingmember I2.

The ends of the casing I may be closed by end members 2l, which can befitted to and associated with the casing structure in any desired mannenand can be secured thereto in any approved way, as for instance byscrews 28, as shown in Figure 1.

The casing I5 can be stiffened by providing or forming transversecorrugations or rib portions 3U therein, and this casing can beconstructed, formed, shaped and assembled, in any manner that may bedesired or may be necessary for the particular adaptation and use andfor the particular supporting means to be employed.

In the present instance I have shown the shoe II supported by a bracket3|, which bracket is illustrated as attached to the casing I5 only byrivets 32, so that the shoe structure as a whole can have relativeslight movement. This sup` porting bracket 3I can be mounted tobeVeither stationary or movable, as the particular installation and use mayrequire, and the roll IIJ can also be mounted and associated with theshoe and remaining portions to be either fixed in its I relative spacingand position, or to be movable and adjustable as conditions may require.

To supply electrical current to th'e heating element 2U, a pair oftubular members 33 can be secured to the casing Ill to receiveinsulating 11 then be inserted to have its ironing surface or facepresented through the opening between the inturned anges II and to haveits edges i3 encased and embraced within the curved portions I6 and I'Iof the casing. In this relation, the concaved recess of the oifsetportions i3 are disposed adjacent to the oppositely concaved inner facesof the portions i1 of the casing, and the insulating strips I3 can beinserted in any desired and approved manner, as by shding the sameendwise, to lie within the oppositely conf caved formations of the partsat I4 and Il, and hold the ironing member I2 and the casing in insulatedseparation. The resiliency of the casing and of the members 24 willcause the parts to be maintained under sucient tension to retain theinsulating strip I8 in position and to prevent displacement of any ofthe parts.

As illustrated in Fig. 3, the heating element 20 may be constructed andiitted and held in place to give slight clearance at the upper edge orextent of the ironing face or surface of the ironing member I2, and thisconstruction may have a tendency to concentrate the heat so that theupper or entering edge of the ironing face or surface will not be heatedto quite the same degree as the main portion of the ironing member I2over the ironing face or surface. In this manner, and by changing theposition or the relative extent of the. heating element 2t, it will bepossible to have areas of the ironing member I2 relatively hotter thanother areas, to give a smoothing effect at the entering edge with ahotter pressing and ironing surface on the remainder of the ironingface, or to accommodate any other variations that may be desired.However, it is to be understood that the heating element 20 can beextended over the entire area of the inner side of the ironing member I2back of the ironing face or surface, to thus give substantially uniformheating over the entire ironing face or surface, and that the loss ofheat through conduction is reduced to a minimum by reason vof the factthat there is no metaltometal contact between the ironing member I2 andthe casing I5, or any other part.

In Fig. 3 I have illustrated a modiiied construction which may beemployed to facilitate placement and assembly of the parts. In thisconstruction, the casing is made of two parts, comprising a lower partliti and an upper part 4I, having the adjacentportions thereofdetachably connected together by intertting flanges or like formations,as at; 42. With this construction, the lower part it of the casing canhave the ironing member I2 iitted in place, with insulating strip I8therebetween, and the members I2 and 40 can then be slightly openedafter the manner of a book cover to permit insertion of the internalparts 2Q, 2l, 22, 23 and 24, afterY which the parts 49 and I2 are swunginwardly to substantially their normal position. The upper part 4I maythen be slid endwise into place, the interiitting hook or flangeportions at 42 y holding the parts firmly in place and assembled.

With this construction, the insulating members I8 hold the ironingmember I2 from metalntometal or thermo conducting contact with thecasing, and while the curved portions I? of the casing are extended toleave substantially narrow gaps between the edges of these curvedportions II and the ironing element, there isvstill no contact to permitconduction of heat to the casing.

As has been stated, my improved ironing shoe is capable of use inpressing and in steaming, as

well as with a roll type of ironing machine, as

disclosed in Figure l. of the drawing; and, in the use of the ironingshoe for pressing the shoe may be mounted and associated with a pressingbuck or other suitable board or supporting structure to be handledand'rnoved and manipulated in any manner desired. Also, where theironing shoeis to be used in steaming operations, my improved structurecan be mounted and held and manipulated in any manner necessary to suitthe particular conditions of use, and moisture can be supplied in anyldesired manner.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided an ironing shoehaving a maximum heat efliciency and with which the heat will besubstantially evenly distributed in all parts of the ironing surface asmay be desired, and all other portions will be and remain relativelycool and unheated. With my improved structure the ironing member IZ hassubstantially only the ironing face or surface thereof exposed, theironing member is supported substantially out of heat conducting contactwith the casing or any other metal parts of the device, and thus heat isnot lost by conduction and the ironing surface is readily maintained ata uniform temperature throughout its entire area without cold spots orvariations in temperature in any part of the ironing face, except asthese may be desired and provided for in the manner explained above.Further, it will be seen that the parts are compactly and firmly andsecurely held together without the use of bolts or screws or other usualfastenings and in a manner which permits ready assembly and disassemblyand replacement or reassembly of any parts with facility. As has beenexplained, the construction of the shoe limits the heated area to onlythe ironing face or surface, which is not accessible when the ironingshoe is in use, thus eliminating the danger and possibility of the ngersor other portions of the person of the operator being burned or injured,and avoiding the possibility of articles of clothing, fabrics, or otherarticles or materials being scorched or burned should they come incontact with the casing or other portions of the housing and encasingstructure. With this construction, the danger and possibility of burningarticles of clothing, fabrics, or other articles or materials, andconsequently the danger of re losses is reduced to a minimum.

While I have herein shown and described only certain specificembodiments of my invention and have set forth only certain possiblemodifications and variations in the construction and use, it will beappreciated that many changes and variations can be made in theconstruction, arrangement, assembly and association of the parts, and inthe manner of supporting and using my improved ironing shoe, withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. An ironing shoe comprising, in combination, an elongated ironingmember having rearwardly offset portions on its longer edges, a casingspaced rearwardly from said member and curved forwardly and inwardly atits longer edges to overlie and embrace the oifset portions of said mel-- ber, insulating strips interposed between the offset portions ofsaid member and the curved portions of said casing, a heating elementpositioned closely adjacent the inner surface of said member, andinsulating means interposed between the heating element and the casingand bearing rearwardly against the casing to clamp said insulatingstrips between the offset portions of said member and the curvedportions of said casing whereby said ironing member is supported andheld in position solely by the insulating means.

2. An ironing shoe comprising, in combination, an elongated ironingmember having rearwardly offset portions on its longer edges, saidportions having a concave front face, a casing spaced rearwardly fromsaid member and having curved portions on its longer edges extendingforwardly and inwardly around and over and thus embracing the offsetportions of said member, insulating strips interposed between the offsetportions of said member and curved portions of said casing to hold saidportions inv non-contacting relation, a heating element lying closelyadjacent the rear face of said member, and means within the casing toforce said member forwardly relative to the casing and thereby hold saidmember firmly in place and against said insulating strips.

3. An ironing shoe comprising, in combination, an elongated casinghaving its longer edges bent forwardly and inwardly, an elongatedironing member having its longer edges located and confined within thebend at the edges of said casing with its ironing face exposedtherebetween, a heating element lying adjacent the rear face of saidmember, and insulating means interposed at all points of support betweensaid member and said casing serving as the sole support for said memberand holding said member and said casing in non-contacting relation.

4. An ironing shoe comprising, in combination, an ironing element havingrearwardly offset portions along two opposed edges, a casing coveringthe rear face of said member and rolled over forwardly and then inwardlyat opposed edges to extend around and confine said offset portions, aheating element lying `closely adjacent the rear face of said element, aplurality of layers of insulating material overlying the rear face ofsaid element, and a metallic plate interposed between said layers ofinsulating material and the casing, said plate having its edges bentforwardly toward the offset portions of said member to prevent escape ofheat along said edges.

5. An ironing shoe comprising an ironing member having rearwardly offsetportions at opposite edges thereof concaved on the forward sides, acasing for said ironing member having opposite edges curved forwardlyand inwardly to provide inturned flanges receiving the offset portionsof the ironing member and leaving exposed only the ironing face thereof,strips of heat insulating material interposed and held in the concavedformations of the ironing member and the inturned flange portions of thecasing and insulating material interposed between the back of theironing member and a corresponding portion` of said casing and servingwith the strips of insulating material as the sole support for saidironing member.

6. An ironing shoe comprising an ironing member having rearwardly offsetportions at opposite edges thereof -concaved on the forward sides, acasing for said ironing member having opposite edges curved forwardlyand inwardly to provide inturned flanges receiving the offset portionsof the ironing member and leaving'exposed only the ironing face thereof,strips of heat insulating material interposed and held in the concavedformations of the ironing member and the inturned flange portions of thecasing, a heating element lying on the rear face of the ironing member,and heat insulated means within the casing bearing against said heatingelement and consequently urging said heating element into contact withthe ironing member and retaining said ironing member in position againstthe insulating strips with the ironing face thereof eX- posed.

7. An ironing shoe comprising an ironing member having rearwardly offsetportions at opposite edges thereof concaved on the forward sides, acasing for said ironing member having opposite edges curved forwardlyand inwardly to provide inturned flanges receiving the offset portionsof` the ironing member and leaving exposed only the ironing facethereof, strips of heat insulatingl material interposed and held in theconcaved formations of the ironing member and the inturned flangeportions of the casing, a heating element behind the ironing member,insulating means overlying the heating element on the inner sidethereof, and wedging means interposed between the inner side of thecasing and said insulating means holding said heating element againstthe ironing member and retaining said ironing member in position againstthe insulating strips with its ironing face exposed..

8. An ironing shoe comprising in combination an elongated ironingmember, a casing embracing the rear face of said member and having theedges thereof in structural interengagement over the edges of theironing member, and insulating strips interposed between the portions ofthe ironing member and the casing in structural interengagement wherebysaid ironing member and casing are spaced apart from direct thermal con`ducting contact.

9. An ironing shoe comprising in combination an elongated ironingmember, a casing embracing the rear face of said member and having theedges thereof in structural interengagement over the edges of theironing member, insulating strips interposed between the portions of theironing member and the casing in structural interengagement whereby saidironing member and casing are spaced apart from direct thermalconducting contact, and insulating means interposed between the back ofthe casing and the back of the ironing member urging said ironing memberto bear against the insulating strips.

10. An ironing shoe comprising an elongated ironing member, a casingdisposed over the rear of said ironing member and having its edgesoverturned and inturned to embrace forwardly over the edges of theironing member, strips of insulating material interposed between theoverturned and inturned portions of the casing and adjacent portions ofthe ironing member, and means engaging the inner side of the back of thecasing urging said ironing member into contact with said insulatingstrips.

11. An ironing shoe comprising an elongated ironing member having anironing face, a casing member fitted over the back of said ironingmember and having overturned and inturned lip portions disposed on theforward side of the ironing shoe, a heating element disposed upon saidironing shoe back of the ironing surface thereof, insulating materialoverlying the heating element within the casing, insulating stripsinterposed between the overturned and inturned lips of the casing andthe adjacent opposed edges of the ironing shoe, and means interposedbetween the back of the casing and the insulation behind the heatingelement urging the parts into interengaging relation in which theinsulation separates the casing from thermal conducting contact with theironing member.

ALLEN J. PATCH.

